MAYSVILLE, Ky. — Meta will be the partner of the new 2,000-acre data center in Maysville that was approved in May, Mason County Judge Executive Owen McNeill announced Tuesday.
McNeill said that he and his team finalized the agreement with Meta Platforms to put the "hyperscale data center" in the community.
"Meta will develop the data center and technology campus in Mason County, which has approved zoning of more than 2,000 acres for the project," McNeill said in his announcement. "Meta's development plan with Mason County Fiscal Court includes five phases, with capital investment estimated at potentially $800 billion over a forty-year agreement."
Once complete, McNeill said the data center will feature more than 400 full-time employees, and it will generate an estimated $60 million in annual revenue for Mason County Schools and $26 million in annual revenue for Mason County government.
"This is a transformational and generational moment for our community, region and state and I am so proud to welcome Meta to Mason County," McNeill said.
McNeill said he and his team also negotiated a community benefits package in excess of $115 million:
- $40 million to the City of Maysville to fund improvements to water pipelines, water mains and pump station
- $15 million to Western Mason Water District for construction of pipelines and a storage tank
- $45 million that will be matched by dollars granted by the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly to build a new state-of-the-art regional water treatment plant.
McNeill said the package is one of the largest benefits packages for an announced economic development project in the U.S.
"This agreement with Meta represents the hard work of many dedicated individuals and organizations that envisioned a brighter future for Mason County and all of our residents," McNeill said. "Meta represents the pinnacle of technology companies that only a few short years ago, we would have never dreamt would invest here. For our community, closer to the rural end of the spectrum than urban, their investments positively address just about every issue our communites are facing today and will greatly bolster them into the future."
The announcement comes after the Mason County Fiscal Court approved zoning for the controversial data center in May. The data center's creation means dozens of residents in Maysville will likely have to move.
In May, WCPO 9 spoke with some of the residents impacted, including Gregory Thomas Jones, who lives at the Meadowland Village trailer park, which is part of where the data center will be located.
"Data center (is) coming and that's just the way it is," Jones said. "I hate that we got caught in the middle... we were comfortable out here."
Neighbors told WCPO that the complex was sold as part of the data center plans, with residents offered $50,000 buyouts.
Another resident, Lisa Helphinstine, said the data center is running her out of Mason County.
"I have no idea where I'm gonna go. I have no idea what I'm gonna do," Helphinstine said. "There's no homes to buy. You have to buy five acres or more. I'm being ran out of Mason County."
WCPO first reported in March that a group of Mason County residents threatened to sue if the plans moved forward. That lawsuit is now filed.
You can click here to find a comprehensive guide of all documents and plans related to the data center project on the city's website.
